ABU DHABI

Saudi Arabia will soon be authorized to produce Russia’s Kalashnikov AK-103 assault rifle, an official at Russian state-run defense company Rostec said Monday.

"The agreement will be signed by the end of the month," Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov was quoted as saying by Russia’s Sputnik news agency.

Chemezov made the remarks at the IDEX international defense exhibition currently underway in the United Arab Emirates.

"The Saudis want to domestically produce a large portion of the rifle -- about 90 percent -- while we would like to see less than that," Chemezov said.

“So talks remain underway,” he added.